Right Place At The God Appointed Time

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This week during the Blogging Through The Bible series hosted by Courtney at Women Living Well we are in the book of Esther. Something that has stuck out to me was how Esther was in the right place at the God appointed time. But really there have been tons more lessons that can be learned from this week.

When we started in Chapter 1 we noticed the importance of submitting to our husbands even when they are acting a little less than desirable. We learned that it is even more so important when we are in public and people are watching because it is setting a bad example to what a marriage should look like. King Xerxes may have been wrong in demanding Queen Vashti to attend the banquet but her refusal to attend was far more insulting. How is a King suppose to rule a kingdom if he has no control over his own castle. This made him look weak. What made matters worse was that she was hosting a banquet for women at the same time. The women were able to see this play out. Had something not been done it could have been bad for all the households who were in attendance. This chapter reminded me that how I respond to my husband has consequences both inside our home and outside our home. It is important that my husband knows that he is the king of his castle and that no matter what I am standing behind him. Even when I think the decision may be a little less than what I would have desired. The fact that the king had to seek outside counsel and the fact that he wanted to show his queen off tells me that he truly cared about her. Yet, it is apparent that the feelings may not have been mutual.

Our actions have consequences……

We are suppose to honor our husbands at all times not just when it is convenient for us…….

In Chapter 2 Esther comes on the scene. I believe what set her apart from the other women was she was pure. She was beautiful both inside and out. She was a woman of strong faith so we learned as we kept reading. These things drew King Xerxes to her. Outward beauty is nothing if your inward beauty is lacking. As we all know outward beauty fades yet inward beauty if tended properly can be grown into epic proportions. We grow this by staying in God’s word and by clinging to what is revealed to us through God’s word. Mordecai was earning loyalty points with Xerxes by uncovering a plot set against the king. A plot that he over heard none the less. Now tell me God doesn’t place you in the right places at the right time.

Inward beauty is far more important than outward beauty…..

God puts us in the right places at the right time always…….

Chapter 3 is where God reveals to us the villain in this series of events. Haman was a man of pride. When we become prideful and we start to put ourselves on a pedestal bad things will happen. Every. Single. Time. What makes matters worse is that he plots against God’s chosen people. He does so because Mordecai refuses to bow down before him. Mordecai shows here that he is courageous and stands up for what he believes in. Even though it may offend others. Oh, if only we ourselves could remember this when we are faced with difficult situations that question what we know to be right. Think of the difference we would make in the world. Morecai was not fearful as to what would happen to him. He was fearful to be disobedient to God.. Wow.

What goes up must come down……

We must remain faithful to God not man……

A heartbroken Mordecai appeals to Esther in Chapter 4 because he knows that God’s people are about to perish and he knows that Esther is in the position to help. Esther is torn because she knows that if not handled as delicately as possible she herself will be killed. She does what we should all do when faced with a difficult task. She sought guidance and she prayed. Not only that she requested prayer from others and fasted. She didn’t act out of desperation. Instead she wanted to carefully weigh out the situation and seeking guidance.

If in doubt let God point it out…….

Act in faith not desperation…….

God always has a reason for our positions in life……

Esther starts to act in Chapter 5. She presents herself to the King unannounced which is a no no. Yet, she doesn’t blurt out what she wants. She simply wants to serve her husband. She wants to honor him. No, she isn’t in happy with the edict that he helped set in place. But, she is still being submissive to her husband. Esther is being the queen that every King needs. Unlike his first queen. She even extends the invitation to Haman. The very one responsible for this mess. It is so easy to not comply to our husbands when they are doing something we don’t agree with. Yet, this is not how marriage is suppose to be. We need to continue to extend grace to them. After all this encourages real changes.

Your frustrations should not be taken out on your husband…….

We do not get to pick and chose when to be submissive……….

I must admit Chapter 7 made me chuckle. Oh the irony in the fact that God caused Xerxes to have a restless night. Which led to him having the records read to him. Even more so ironic is that Haman still in his prideful state thought the King wanted to honor him only to find out that he was to do everything he wished for himself to Mordecai!! God truly has a sense of humor. Then we finally see Esther appeal to the King at the second banquet she has for him and Haman. Haman had already had a bad day but it turned even worse when it is revealed that his plot not only was going to kill the Jews but the Queen as well. Xerxes being loyal to his Queen of course fixes this and the very device that is set in place to kill Mordecai is used to kill himself instead.

When we are submissive our husbands are loyal to us…….

Plotting and scheming causes major trouble to the one who is doing it……..

What Does This Mean For Us:

It is so easy to wonder why we are put in the places that we are. It is easy to question God’s purpose for us. Yet God has a place for each and every one of us. Apply God’s word to our lives not only enlightens us to His place for us but it also provides us with the tools we need to actually put His plans in motion. There is no accidents with God. Everything has a reason. Every. Single. Thing. Yet, we must remain faithful to be fully used for His glory. When we are doing the things God has meant for us we are under His protection. We have no reason to fear the rest of the world. We only need to focus on Him. God will always have us in the right place at the God appointed time

I would like to invite you to my Facebook group Christian Homemakers in Training where we dive into homemaking, motherhood, marriage and group devotions. After all, we all need a safe place to grow together, right?

Comments

What an amazing post for me to see today! My fiancee and I are going through some financial changes at the moment, which have led to me basically wringing my hands, yelling, pretty much “WHY CAN’T YOU JUST BE BETTER, YOU IDIOT”. I feel awful about this, of course, but as we all know submitting is not as easy as some people might think when things are easy 😉

Another thing that stuck out to me is saying not to act anxiously or desperately, but prayerfully! This all ties into current decisions. I often tell my fiancee to pray about things, as do I, but do I really always give God time to answer!?

Submission is not easy. Just like our walk with God it takes work. It takes trust and it takes a lot of prayer. You are right we have to give God time to answer us. Sometimes we don’t get the answer as soon as we would like but it is always right on time. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.

Oh Bridget…this was brilliant! I love how you laid it all out…lessons to take from the book of Esther..concise and easy to read. I had the same reaction to Chapter 7 and I thought “My father always said ‘What goes around comes around!’ .

[…] could have chosen, He choose Esther, and she found favor in His site. Moredcai happens to be in the right place at the God appointed time , and he finds out about the death sentence for the Jews. We see the fasting that happened in Esther […]